Laura From POD Financial Shares How She Successfully Outsourced In Her Business…

Quick Access To The Case Study Questions

Laura is a residential lending specialist with a focus on smart lending strategies, money structures that support our clients’ goals and personal service. Laura’s assists clients with obtaining loans for purchasing a home or investment property, refinancing existing facilities or consolidating debts.

In this detailed interview Laura details how she successfully implemented outsourcing into her business, detailing the processes she uses, the challenges she faced with staff and how we worked together to overcome those challenges.

2 Minutes 46 Seconds

Why Did You Decide To Outsource?

Laura – I decided to outsource as I needed assistance in my business in general. I work with a lot of documentation and once I see a client there’s a lot of follow through to deliver on the promises I have made. So, I needed assistance with that if I wanted to grow and if was going to have a robust business.

David – Why did you get into the industry?

Laura – I love it!!! It was 10 years ago that I got into business so I don’t have a fledging business anymore, it’s an established business. I got into it as I wanted to do something that was fundamental and I wanted something that was flexible for my family, which was important to me. I found that mortgage broking was something I just ‘got’.

I understood risk, how to interpret the language of risk and mortgage broking. That was something that I could then share with other people that didn’t have that background. I think it’s really valuable and important skillset to have or to be able to share.

David – Do you ever feel like you’ve been in this industry for a really long time?

Laura – It does and it doesn’t. There are things that happen in our industry that could be considered frustrations, but it’s also important to know that that’s just what the industry is and that there’s opportunity in that.

10 years is a long time, but I still get joy in the people that I meet and that I get to help them achieve what they want to achieve. So it’s a very empowering industry to be in.

4 Minutes 03 Seconds

Is Trust An Important Factor When Outsourcing?

Laura – It’s crucial and it’s one of the most important parts of what I do in my business. Building trust on every level… Trust with the clients, trust with the lender’s’, my industry is based on it. For me a part of that is how we handle client information which is really sensitive information. Things like ID, bank account details are things I have to access to do my job. Therefore I need to have processes around that to secure that data. There are a steps we have implemented when working with Alexis and the team at Affordable Staff, so the documentation I have never leaves the country as everything is password protected. Alexis only has access to certain files and I have visibility over everything she is doing and you are also a paperless offer. There are things we went through together to understand how your office is set up in the Philippines that gave me confidence to trust in that process.

David – I’ve found that trust and having an infrastructure in place are critical. With that in mind your infrastructure is only as good as the people you have using that infrastructure. Now, you’ve had an existing relationship with one of the business partners ‘Nadine’ for many years. For a lot of our clients and our local people, they know who they are dealing with and that they have them there as a support. Have you found having a local Australian person an important part of building that trust?

Laura – Absolutely. People like to work with people they know, like and trust. I think if I hadn’t known Nadine prior I still would have investigated the outsourcing solution, but I have an additional level of confidence as I know Nadine that I would have had to build with someone else, for a longer period of time.

David – How would you see outsourcing working for you if you didn’t have Nadine or a local Australian contact and it was someone directly overseas you were dealing with?

Laura – I would not have outsourced. It’s pretty clear I wouldn’t. Because of what I do and the information being so sensitive, it’s really important that it’s covered here and that I know who I’m dealing with. I have an obligation to know my client and I extend that obligation across to know who I’m dealing with working with my suppliers.

5 Minutes 55 Seconds

Why Did You Choose Us?

Laura – Because I already knew who I was dealing with and we worked together to find a solution for me. I felt supported and I was confident that my concerns and needs were acknowledged and responded to. There were things that were important to me like none of my data leaving Australia, everything Alexis does is through a terminal. Yes she is in the Philippines yet she accesses everything from my own system locally in Australia. She is logging into my portal and for me that was really important as well.

David – Let’s expand on that, cause you had some issues with us, didn’t you?

Laura – No, I didn’t have issues with Affordable Staff or with the team member at all. When I initially thought about what I needed or put together the job description, I thought I needed a particular skillset as I hadn’t outsourced before. What ended up happening is I employed the person with that skillset. I put a lot of time into that system and I think when you put a person on you need to support them for them to succeed.

If you don’t give them a system to work with, all you’re doing is setting them up for failure. So I needed to develop my system (which I did) and then we were working with the person I had specifically asked for. I turned out through that process that I needed a different person. She was valuable on the tasks I was asking her to do, but she didn’t have that experience in the tasks that I didn’t realise I needed to get done.

David – And how did we handle that?

Laura – Really well. One of the reasons I went into outsourcing is I didn’t want to handle the hiring or firing as I don’t have that skillset and I don’t have the time. I wanted someone who could handle that process for me. I literally just said to Nadine, I don’t think she’s going to understand what I need her to get in the timeframe I need her to do it. There was a hire that was put out for another broker and he wasn’t ready but Alexis and the other person had been working together as a team and I saw the progress they made together as a team and it was phenomenal. In the end though, I had to choose just one. I ended up selecting Alexis as she had more of the skillsets I was actually looking for and I could see that in the work and the tasks they were doing.

5 Minutes 01 Second

What Limitations Have You Found In Outsourcing?

Laura – I think for outsourcing to work really well we need to embrace technology. It’s about having an understanding of how to communicate the types of platforms that are available for you to communicate. In my role and my industry I need to embrace technology anyway, because I’m constantly dealing with the management of information, storing it, collecting it, whatever it is i’m always dealing with information. Technology and the use of it is critical in my industry.

I think if you have an older style business where you’re working with a phone and a desktop computer and you haven’t embraced some of the technology that’s available than that would be something that could be limiting. I think it’s about where you want to go with your business, to really grow in today in business we need to embrace technology, because it’s here.

David – I also like how you say a limitation is an opportunity

Laura – Yes, it is… If there is a limitation around how a process works then it’s an opportunity to grow or to find another way. I don’t see a limitation as a bad thing, I see them as something that helps us to grow into a better business and a better person.

David – When you go on the outsource journey you’re constantly come across limitations when dealing with other countries. There are times that we’ll sit and we’ll think ‘oh again’. Yet you have to sit down, think about the direction you’re going and like you said think, ‘what is this limitation that is being presented to us, what is the solution, what is the work around so you can overcome the limitation’? At the end of the day, I’ve always found as a business that a limitation is defined by people that are a part of the business and what you’re prepared to do in order to make it work.

Laura – The other thing I’ve always thought is English or language skill may be a limiting factor, but I haven’t found that to be an issue. I’ve found the English skills of all people I have spoken to within your team in the Philippines have been excellent.

I think the Philippines in general understand that English is the language that a lot of businesses will be doing business in and if they want be an outsourcing solution then they need to speak the language of those clients that will use those services. I’ve found the language skills are really quite high, and I’ve been really happy with the communication we’ve been able to have.

Overall the limitations have allowed me to build a better business model.

The limitations show me where the holes in my business are. I need a business that can deliver on the things that I promise to a client that means I need to have all of those gaps filled. There’s nothing like a team member doing a job for you, with a job process that you’ve written for them and then they interpret in their own way to help you realise where the holes in your business are. I’ve used that process to build a much more robust business.

2 Minutes 57 Seconds

What Does Your Industry Think About Outsourcing?

Laura – They use it everywhere. If you think about my industry it’s financial services. Banks outsource. They outsource their documentation procedures, they outsource their call centres for client service, some of them outsource their credit departments. The lenders outsource to India or the Philippines or where ever they go. They’ve seen that’s a more profitable way for them to run. The aggregators outsource as well.

They’re all already using it so it’s just about how we manage the information transfer.

I think what’s changed recently is we have much better access to communication capability now, through things like email. When I started you were faxing supporting documentation and if the fax jammed through 40 pages it was really irritating.

Now you just email it, or now lenders are moving to allow you to submit supporting documentation online, where you submit it in the portal, so it’s not even email anymore. We’re moving beyond email, so email is becoming an outdated technology.

3 Minute 44 Seconds

What Would You Say To A Business Looking At Outsourcing?

Laura – Have a strategic plan for how you want to implement an outsource solution and know the tasks for what you want that person to do. You need to have a job description and think about what they’re actually going to do. Then you need to think about how you’re going to complete those tasks and then report back on them.

I would work with the team in Australia to make sure your technology is up to scratch, because if it’s not it will just impede the communication process.

Yeah, having that strategic plan is important.

Have an open mind and constantly be seeking feedback while regularly checking to see if there’s a gap in your system, their knowledge or their experience.

The other thing to bear in mind is to understand what it is your offshore team member actually sees and to work with the technology that they will be working with. They are in a paperless office and they don’t have a printer. So if you’re accustomed to sending or doing things in a particular way, you need to understand that they may not have access to doing their tasks the same way that you will be.

The reason for that is it’s a more secure environment and if you have loose paper you can take that and carry it, but if they are paperless they have to do everything on their monitor. If you have a person complete a task and presume that they have the same view as you on their screen or the same accessibility to the information as you have and they don’t, then you may be asking your team to do something they cannot do.

So it’s really important to understand what technology they have at their disposal to do the task you’ve asked them to do.

With top tiered accounting firms growing offshore teams combined with staff shortages in employing local experienced staff, small to medium accounting practices are exploring outsourcing to ensure their future growth and survival.

The historical fear of employing and retaining offshore staff is a ‘real concern’ unless you implement the best infrastructure combined with proven methods of success.

Our unique offering is through the placement of full time staff with our clients, allowing your dedicated offshore staff member to grow and develop as a part of your business.

Protection and Control of Your Staff and Data

Our method of outsourcing ensures your team become an important part of your business, at the same time allowing full control of your team and the handling of your propriety or sensitive information.

You control each stage from hiring to daily assigning of tasks with your team (local and overseas) acting as a support for your offshore staff and offering peace of mind to grow your own offshore team.

Listed below are a few of real tasks and software our team complete for their accounting clients.

Correspondence & File Management

Correspondence & File Management

Managing electronic filing system and email correspondence including labelling / filing of emails, proper filing of files and applying naming conventions to filing structures based on custom specifications.

Software our offshore team use daily:

HOW YOU CAN GET A FREE CONSULTATION!

We understand Outsourcing Sales and Property Management is a great move, especially if you want to remain competitive and continue to grow your business.

At the same time, it can be daunting to consider how Outsourcing can fit within your current business model especially when you want to understand how well it will integrate.

We understand how well it works for our other property management and sales agencies that we’re prepared to offer a Free consultation (normally valued at $197) where we can discuss if outsourcing is a good fit for your business.

After talking with one of our local Australian team you’ll understand the exact steps we follow when working with other real estate agencies and whether it will be a good fit for your business.

To find out more complete your details below, where we’ll grab a few simple details and will be in contact shortly.

FREE CONSULTATION

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OTHER HAPPY CLIENTS

Bite the bullet and give it a go. It’s been an incredibly valuable addition to our business. We’ve taken steps forward, we’ve only been doing it for a few months and I’ve already seen significant change to our business.

I’d just like to thank you guys for what you’ve done for us as it’s been really, really helpful.

Damien MissoProfessionals Woody Point

Outsourcing has changed our office, it’s changed how I run my business. I have time to work on my business, instead of in my business. My local staff now have time to concentrate on inspecting properties, instead of completing mundane tasks like Lease Renewals and Rental Arrears. They don’t have to worry about as it’s all taken care of.

If there is anyone that is looking at outsourcing to contact Affordable Staff as they have made it so easy and I cannot recommend them enough.

Stacey JacksonHarcourts Coomera

I can’t recommend Affordable Staff highly enough as my team are fully supported. The pressure is taken off where we can now have lunch every day and actually leave on time every afternoon.

Lauren Robinson Rental Results

We have operated with a remote team assisting our property management processes over a year now. Our experience with Affordable Staff has been fantastic.

The way they recruit and then induct the team is second to none. I can say this because we have had experience with another company. They are easy to deal with and upskill the girls on the programs before they start working with you.

Their understanding of the industry is great and they are all very easy to deal with. If you are considering hiring a remote team, Affordable Staff are the people you should be talking with.

Michelle Rigg - General ManagerRent West

Affordable Staff have been brilliant for our business. Through their staff selection and training of those staff specifically for our needs, we now have highly skilled, outsourced staff helping us with a range of functions including marketing, SEO, data mining, administration, and reception. They have helped increase our human resource skill base significantly while reducing our costs. It doesn’t get better than that in business!!!

I would recommend Affordable Staff to anyone needing a reliable and cost effective outsource solution.

Dr Steve FrancisFrontStream Asia Pacific

I’m happy to talk to you about how it’s assisted us, and how we’re able to trust David and his team, and we’ve got other mutual clients that you could talk to as well.

I’ve had a long term relationship with Affordable Staff as a client and Trust them strongly.

Andrew ReeceInspect Real Estate

After more thank 12 months of procrastinating and Damien holding my hand and guiding me though the entire process,

I am so excited to have taking on my first VA. I was very reluctant and didn’t really have the time for change and training, but it was far easier than I thought.

After just a month… I now could not work without Ely. This has literally saved me $1000’s (in just a short period of time) for our graphic design work alone.

Debbie PalmerPPM Group

I chose to work with your company as I already knew who I was dealing with and we worked together to find a solution for me.

I felt supported and I was confident that my concerns and needs were acknowledged and responded to.

Laura SillanoPOD Financial

Having a VA has allowed me to focus on growing my business. Outsourcing has allowed me to focus on my business.

Karen NgRoger Ng & Co Business Accountants

Quite honestly, the biggest feature for me is the foundation in how Affordable Staff works. There is a strong focus on support and development of the team. For anyone looking at outsourcing I encourage you to give it a go. From first hand experience it has all of the positives and none of the negatives.

Keith MarshallAustralian Mortgage and Financial Advisors

Growth is everywhere you look at the new Renowned Furniture. We have added a new French polisher whose background harks from the Melbourne, Toorak elite where fine furniture and antique restoration are of a very high quality and we’ve also added a new joiner to assist with all the day to day joinery.

Our turnover here at Renowned has increased by more than double in the past 12 months! At a time when so many businesses in general are saying that they are quiet and so many businesses in our particular industry are downsizing or closing!

Dan ValmadreRenowned Furniture

Once I learned details of your business model and your structure there was an automatic TRUST and it wasn’t a difficult decision to use Affordable Staff once we’d completed our own Due Diligence of your business. It’s a good feeling to be able to pick up the phone, talk to someone locally which gives you an ultimate sense of confidence.